The stock market is a very diverse place where companies from across various industries make their shares available to the public.
As an investor/trader, finding the right stocks that meet your requirements can be a highly challenging and time-consuming task. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq alone list shares of just under 6,000 companies and funds.
Choosing between them takes practice and a laser focus on your objectives. If you are unsure of what you wish to buy, the sheer variety can confuse you even further.
This is where stock screeners come in handy. Investors can use stock screeners to narrow down their search by using a wide variety of technical and fundamental factors.
For instance, you may wish to trade stocks that have a market capitalization of between $1-5 billion. A stock screener can easily do that for you and save you precious time.
There are a number of free stock screeners available on the internet, which can help beginner traders make shortlists and categorize their watchlists to suit changing market conditions.
If you wish to know more about the best free stock screeners on the market - this investfox guide is for you.
What Is A Stock Screener And How Does It Work?
A stock screener is a tool for traders that is used to categorize stocks and ETFs based on a set of criteria chosen by the trader. This can range from technical factors, such as the Relative Strength Index numbers and the beta coefficient, to fundamentals, such as market capitalization, P/E ratio, etc.
Stock screeners rely on comprehensive databases that provide them with a wide variety of data on each stock, such as trading volume, market cap, earnings reports, sector classification, etc.
Once the criteria are defined, the stock screener applies filters to the database, eliminating stocks that do not meet the specified conditions.
For example, if an investor wants to find stocks with a P/E ratio below 20 and a dividend yield above 2%, the screener will identify stocks that match these criteria.
The results are then ranked by how closely they match the desired criteria and users can choose between them to decide what to buy.
Many stock screeners provide real-time data updates, allowing users to monitor changes in the stocks' conditions and performance.
5 Best Free Stock Screeners On The Market
Similarly to stock screeners, we have narrowed down our search to present five of the best free-to-use stock screeners available on the market, based on their UI, variety of features, and ease of use.
It must be noted that a vast majority of online stock brokers also offer stock screeners at no additional charge to the client.
TradingView
TradingView is one of the most popular web-based platforms for financial tools that help traders and investors analyze financial markets, including stocks, cryptocurrencies, Forex, commodities, and more. It offers real-time data, advanced charting capabilities, technical analysis tools, social networking features, and a stock screener.
The stock screener in particular is easy to use and comes with a breadth of criteria to help users navigate the market.
The stock screener can narrow down the search by using the MACD, RSI, trading volume, market capitalization, P/E ratio, EPS, and so on.
The screener also offers backtesting and an active community where users can share their screens and opinions with other members of the community.
In addition to stocks, TradingView's screener covers other markets like cryptocurrencies, Forex, indices, and more, allowing users to diversify their analysis.
Yahoo Finance
Arguably the most popular and easy-to-use screener for beginners, Yahoo Finance offers a great platform with an intuitive interface and plenty of useful features.
Users can narrow down their searches by using all of the expected technical and fundamental indicators, as well as valuation metrics and financial results.
Users set their desired criteria and can generate results within a matter of seconds. This data can then be exported free of charge.
You can input specific values or ranges for the criteria you're interested in. For instance, you might set a filter to show stocks with a P/E ratio between 10 and 20, a dividend yield above 2%, and belonging to a specific industry sector and the screener will give you the result within seconds.
Yahoo Finance also offers a wide selection of custom screeners, such as Aggressive Small Caps, Day Gainers, Day Losers, Growth Technology Stocks, etc.
ChartMill
ChartMill is another popular entry among financial tools used by stock traders, which also includes a versatile stock screener.
What sets ChartMill apart is the ease of use and a very large selection of stocks and ETFs which gives users plenty of information and a bird’s eye view of the market.
ChartMill is a great tool for casual traders that wish to look at specific sectors and quickly narrow down their search for the stocks to use in their next trade.
Stock Rover
While Stock Rover is primarily suited for traders that wish to get more features than what their stock broker has to offer, it still has a more than capable screener included in the Free Plan.
Users can categorize their searches by technical and fundamental data and save multiple screeners in their accounts.
One unique feature of Stock Rover is its "Graphical Screening" capability. This allows users to visually build complex screens by connecting nodes representing screening conditions. This approach simplifies the process of creating intricate screens.
The screener also comes with an earnings calendar for individual stocks, as well as advanced charting features and portfolio tracking.
Stock Rover is a cloud-based platform, meaning you can access it from any device with an internet connection. This allows for flexibility and accessibility when managing your investments.
FINVIZ
FINVIZ is one of the best options for users who want a comprehensive stock screener that is packed full of features.
The interface of FINVIZ is similar to that of most stock brokers, which makes it easy for traders to feel at home with the platform.
FINVIZ incorporates various visualization tools like heat maps, charts, and graphs to help users quickly assess and understand market trends and stock performance.
Another nice feature is the news section, which gives users a stream of news relating to their stocks of choice.
While not as extensive as some dedicated portfolio management tools, FINVIZ allows users to create and track virtual portfolios, helping them monitor the performance of their selected stocks.
Key Takeaways From What Is The Best Free Stock Screener On The Market
Stock screeners are tools used to filter and narrow down a large number of stocks based on specific criteria
They help investors and traders find stocks that match their investment preferences and strategies
Screeners save time by quickly narrowing down potential investment candidates from thousands of stocks
Stock screeners like Yahoo Finance and TradingView have become popular tools among traders around the world
Screeners sometimes also include additional features, such as backtesting and sample portfolios, as well as curated screeners based on market cap, volume, sector, etc
Most stock brokers offer market screeners for free, albeit with limited capabilities
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A stock screener is a financial tool that allows users to customize their searches by setting technical and fundamental criteria for a large selection of stocks. The screener then narrows down the search results according to the criteria and gives the user the results that best match their desired options.
Are stock screeners useful?
Stock screens are essential tools for traders and investors, as it helps them cut down on research time and quickly find desired stocks by inputting a number of different criteria into the screener, which filters out stocks that do not match said criteria.
Are stock screeners expensive?
Most stock screeners are either completely free or quite affordable. Due to the relatively uncomplicated nature of stock screeners, most stock brokers offer them for free. However, some platforms may offer highly complex criteria and methods of analysis and may charge a premium for their services.
